Major measures have been taken by the UK Government to combat the ‘reading crisis’ with a focus on giving children increased access to books in schools.
The UK chancellor Rachel Reeves today committed to funding for a library in every state primary school in England by 2029 in an announcement made at the Labour Party Conference in Liverpool.
Studies show that access to contemporary books through school and home libraries – alongside reading role models in teachers and parents – are both major factors in shaping young people’s engagement with books and reading.
The scheme, which will create libraries in the 1,700 primaries currently without them, will be funded from £132.5m of dormant assets that will be unlocked to give young people access to cultural opportunities.
The announcement comes in the lead-up to the National Year of Reading 2026, a Department for Education initiative in collaboration with the National Literacy Trust, that aims to tackle the decline in recreational reading participation among children, young people and adults.
It marks a milestone for the Libraries for Primaries campaign, which was co-founded by the National Literacy Trust and Penguin Books in 2021. One in seven primary schools in the UK do not have a library, according to the National Literacy Trust, rising to one in four for disadvantaged areas.
Similar efforts are underway in Australia, with the Students Need School Libraries campaign, as well as the Books Create Australia advocacy election campaign emphasising the importance of access to school libraries for Australian children.
Australia Reads is advocating strongly for support for school libraries from the Australian Government, alongside a national reading strategy and major reading campaigns to support children and young people’s reading.